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Sports fandoms are known to be intense, but recently, an NFL game went too far.
At Sunday night’s Miami Dolphins vs. New England Patriots, a beef between opposing fans turned deadly following an argument.
According to the Boston Globe, witness Joey Kilmartin said he said 53-year-old Dale Mooney ran up on a Dolphins fan whom he’d been jawing at for much of the game. Kilmartin reports that he saw a man in a Dolphins jersey punch someone in the head twice, and no one realized how bad the situation was until the man who got hit stopped moving.
“He [Mooney] went over to Section 311, and he basically engaged in mutual combat with another fan,” Kilmartin told the Boston Globe. “A lot of people started trying to pull them apart. … It looked like somebody was in the middle of them. And then, a man in the Dolphins jersey reached over, and he connected with two punches to the victim’s head. It wasn’t something crazy or out of the ordinary until, 30 seconds later, the guy wasn’t getting up.”
Video of the fight shows several men in the 300 section of the stadium engaging in blows while others looked on or tried to pull them apart.
Kilmartin said the exchange had been brewing for a while, and security approached them at least once in the first quarter and again in the third. Mooney decided to approach the rival fan in the fourth quarter when the Patriots were losing to the Dolphins.
After Mooney stopped moving, paramedics performed CPR but could not revive him.
“The mood quickly fell silent. Very somber. It was like we all kinda knew we just saw somebody die,” Kilmartin added.
His wife, Lisa Mooney, is still shocked that the joyous game led to her husband’s death.
“Numb. I just feel numb. I just can’t even believe this is for real. Why can’t it just be fun? told local news station WCVB.
Gillette Stadium has released a statement saying that they are heartbroken over the tragedy and are working with local authorities in an ongoing investigation.
See how social media is reacting to the ridiculous fight over sports below.
